August 8, 2024	Added "Donut Dilemma"
August 5, 2024	Added "Air Raid" and "Flying Saucers"
July 29, 2024	Added "The Liberator" and "Donkey Kong"
July 25, 2024	Redid HTML for better mobile experience
July 15, 2024	Added "Empire"
July 15, 2024	Added "Dancing Demon"
July 14, 2024	Can paste outside text into emulator
July 13, 2024	Added buttons for Save, Load and 5X speed
July 12, 2024	Fixed Emulator Shift Key issue
July 10, 2024	Added Resolution and History. Added feedback for Save & Load keyboard actions.
July 7, 2024	Added Challenges
July 6, 2024	Added Penetrator
July 2, 2024	Added Scarfman
July 1, 2024	Added Outhouse, Defense Command, Crazy Painter
July 1, 2024	Released website v1.0

"The Games I Used to Play" showcases the games I used to play on my TRS-80 42 years ago. Every week I'll be releasing a TRS-80 game and an accompanying video for those of you with no time to play. Despite the gap, I can play these games better than ever.

This site is only possible thanks to

• The original trs80gp - A TRS-80 Model 1,2,3,4,12,16,6000,MC-10,Color Computer,DT-1,Videotex Emulator created by George Phillips
  
  
• The TRS-80 Model III Emulator in Javascript created by Peter Phillips (ported the above)
  
  
• The genius game developers who had nothing to work with (many have officially released their games to the public domain)
  
  
• Welcome To Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Site
  Software Search is incredible. Beyond in game credits, this is the best way to clarify names and dates. Ira has public domain TRS-80 ROMS, and images of the game covers
  
  
• The Big List of TRS-80 Software
  Play everything in your browser. Instrumental in determining the best version of the games
  
  
• Internet Archive
  TRS-80 game manuals. Searchable 80-Micro magazines including game reviews and tips.
  
  
• Moby Games
  TRS-80 game covers and screenshots. Lists of games by people and by company.
  
  
• Video Game Geek
  TRS-80 game covers and screenshots.

What do I bring to the table?
My looks.

128 x 48
But it's not that simple.
It's actually 512 x 192 (unmatched for a decade).
But it's not that simple.

The display is actually a 64x16 grid of 8x12 ASCII characters. So the resolution is 512 x 192 but you can't change pixels, only ASCII characters. There are 256 ASCII characters to choose from including letters, numbers, symbols, emoticons(!) and squots. To provide line spacing between the 16 rows of text, most characters use only 8 of the 12 vertical pixels. Presenting... all of them.



These high resolution characters could only be displayed by the proprietary monitor. The result was small, detailed text - something not possible on the Atari 2600, NES or even the mighty Commodore 64. Dense text adventures found heaven on the TRS-80, and hell on consoles (the lack of keyboard also didn't help).

The entire screen only takes 1Kb of our precious 16Kb: 64 x 16 x 1 byte (256 character possibilities) = 1,024 bytes. For comparison, a typical 1080p display takes 8,100Kb: 1920 x 1080 x 4 bytes (32-bit colour) = 8,294,400 bytes. That's 507 TRS-80s.

The 128 x 48 Trick
While it's possible to make a game using 64 x 16 characters, movement would be very choppy. i.e. Moving player right would skip 8 pixels at a time. i.e. Moving player up would skip 12 pixels at a time. Additionally, 64 x 16 provides few places to move.

To solve this, 64 of those ASCII characters represent pixels - a genius idea that confused so many for so long (aka. me until now). Characters 128 to 191 are every variation a 2x3 grid of squares can be: from full to empty (each square is 4 x 4 pixels). So moving a TRS-80 pixel down 6 times means changing the ASCII character at a 64x16 position 3 times, then changing the ASCII character below that 3 times. Games use this trick all the time resulting in smoother movement (4px), more places to move, and the 128 x 48 resolution myth. In the immortal words of John Candy: "Those aren't pixels!"

The drawback? The 2x3 squares are large (4x4 pixels), and calculating the correct 2x3 ASCII character for the 64x16 position consumes scarce CPU. There wasn't enough memory to handle a 8x12 pixel grid, so this was a brilliant albeit blocky compromise. Bonus: Now you understand why a TRS-80 "pixel" can't overlap a letter. A TRS-80 pixel is a letter.



The Final Result
For action, games use 4x4 blocky pixels that can be positioned at 128x48. For lettering and HUD components, games use 8x12 high-rez characters that can only be positioned at 64x16. The best games mixed these for maximum screen usage. i.e. The Dancing Demon blocky pixel curtain was decorated with high-rez letters. Combined with the "tall" pixels and screen lines (the emulator captures these perfectly), the TRS-80 has a never-imitated, never-duplicated look.

Can you upgrade the TRS-80 graphics card?
Yes

The Tandy Radio Shack Z-80 (TRS-80) Model I was released by Radio Shack in August 3, 1977. One of the first computers people could buy for their home from the local mall. Hugely successful (greatly outselling Apple until 1982), yet mostly forgotten.

Technical Specifications
. Monitor: 12" 15kHz 384x192 monochrome monitor, black & white (no grays)
. Processor: Zilog Z-80 1.77 MHz
. Memory: 4Kb
. Upper case only (saved $1.97 per computer)
. Caused radio interference, angering the FCC

In 1979 the radically different business focussed TRS-80 Model II was released. It was not compatible whatsoever, and I know little about this bastard child.

In 1980 Radio Shack released the TRS-80 Model III, an improved version of the Model I with a better processor (2.03Mhz), better resolution (512 x 192), more memory (16Kb), lower case, and no radio interference. Like upgrading from PS4 to PS4 Pro. My Dad bought this when I was in Grade 6 because he knew the revolution had come, and he's a genius. Games played best on the TRS-80 Model III, so that's what we're emulating.



Found this image on eBay in 2024. Note the position of the arrow keys, and coating eroded by years of sweaty palms. You can buy an official image for $575

1. A Walk In The Park
   shoot the flagship just before it reaches the middle, brace yourself
   
   
2. Fast Food
   clear Skill Level 9 without dying, requires planning
   
   
3. Strangelove
   drop one perfectly timed bomb, enjoy the spectacular fireworks
   
   
4. Silence of the Lambs
   send 92 soldiers to attack Bavaria, then live with yourself
   
   
5. Patience
   read all Empire instructions on very slow
   
   
6. Walk On
   walk onto the lifts without jumping
   
   
7. One Must Fall
   jump over a fireball while it crosses a segment
   
   
8. Schizm
   jump over a fireball while it crosses a segment (difficult)
   
   
9. Donovan Bailey
   outrun the falling barrel
   
   
10. Do More With Less
    On Easy (9), finish with more hits than shots.
    
    
11. Beat Stu
    Stu got 1,069. Beat him.
    I got 1,070 on Hard (1). Both patience and luck involved.
    
    
12. If Only The Sugar
    walk underneath the sprinkler
    
    
13. Troy's Bucket
    pass that damn bucket
    
    
14. I Would Walk 500
    get that 500, it's totally doable
    
    

Ctrl+L to reload/restart

• Make sure you play 5X THE SPEED! Spares you the pain of waiting for 5 computer player turns.
  
  
• Empire is all about the wheat. If you fail to feed your people enough, you risk getting assassinated. Money is worth less than wheat. Fighting and gaining land is secondary to wheat. Should you choose to sell wheat, always ask yourself "Will doing this kill me?" The answer is always yes.
  
  
• Serfs are the most precious commodity in the game. You need them to increase the size of your army, but their numbers increase slowly and they're killed easily. Always feed them extra so the births counteract the deaths by disease.
  
  
• After you feed your army and people, you must have 10,000+ wheat for next year's harvest. If you've used all wheat, next year you'll have 0 wheat even with great weather.
  
  
• Try to attack the same person twice. The first destroys their army, and the second slaughters serfs en masse. If you kill enough serfs, you deal extra damage and receive this ultra disturbing report
  
  
  
  
• Always leave some army for defense. Even a single army man can protect your serfs from an enemy attack. Remember: It's extremely hard to replenish dead serfs.
  
  
• The advantage of going first
  At the end of a full round, Empire shows you everyone's stats including how much army they have. Since you go first (before others have a chance to replenish their armies) you know how much army they'll have when you attack! Get those serfs!
  
  
• The drawback of going first
  Oppenents can attack you even after you destroy their army. Their full turn comes after you're done attacking, where they'll buy a full army again (just like you). You can mitigate this by killing their serfs and stealing lots of land, which reduces their max army size.
  
  
• If you're attacking serfs, they will defeat you - so never send your entire army to attack serfs. Additionally, you'll only deal extra damage if there's an army man left to collect. Nothing is more disheartening than killing hundreds of innocent people, and only winning acres of land.
  
  
• The maximum size of your army is determined by how much palace you've bought (which attracts nobles), how many serfs you have, and how much land you have.
  
  
• While fighting, to see how many troops you have attack with a ridiculous amount (I always use 500). The game will ignore the attack and reply "You only have X troops." Ta-da! You have outsmarted the system.
  
  
• At any point, you can have a heart attack and die. There's nothing that I know of that can prevent this. Remember to Copy (Ctrl+C) or Save (Ctrl+S) your game before this happens (modern tech to the rescue!). The good news is heart attacks happen to computer opponents!
  
  
• * Spoiler * You'll eventually get all the land including all the barbarian land yet the game continues. You'll eventually get 100% palace and the game continues. The game suddenly ended at year 40 and finally declared me emperor, a feat never achieved until 2024. Experience that yourself
  
  
• * Spoiler * When just the barbarians are left, don't completely defeat them. Use them to reduce your army to 0, then ignore them. That way you have no army to feed saving some grain.
  
  

• Empire shipped on cassette with CLOAD Magazine (Feb 1981). This version had major errors and would crash after playing awhile. CLOAD shipped 2 fixes/patches afterward (March and April 1981) that had to be manually inputted. Unable to find a patched version I applied the fixes using the TRS32 emulator in December 2011. I was able to make the changes on PC and copy/paste them into a TRS-80 (blows away the line editor)! I tested by playing 2 full games of Empire and the patches appear to work! We're emulating my patched version. Bonus: Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Site lists the patched version!
  
  
• (this information comes from YouTube comment by Stanley Holloway)
  Empire was written for TRS-80 Model I Level 1 Basic. This is amazing for 2 reasons:
  1. I believe Peter only had 2Kb to work with. Model I had 4Kb, but Level 1 Basic consumed 2Kb
  2. Level 1 Basic was extremely limited, and quickly replaced by Level 2 Basic (created by Microsoft no less)
  
  
• You can view the Empire BASIC source code here! In the emulator, you can press ESC (TRS-80 Break) to edit the code. Beware, the line editor is not for the weak of heart.
  
  
• To max out all available memory, Peter removed all spaces in the code (see image). Additionally, when the game first runs it deletes the first 6 lines of code (comments) to free up more memory. Insane trick I've never seen since. Lack of memory makes people do crazy things.
  
  
  
  
• Line 6 of Empire that code reads
  CREDITS: 'Hammurabi' BY RICK MERRIL & DAVID AHL, 'Santa Paravia' BY GEORGE BLANK
  
  Hamurabi was created by Doug Dyment in 1968 and released on the PDP-8. Gameplay featured 10 rounds of wheat trading but no fighting armies. "Around 1971 David H. Ahl ported it to DEC BASIC and in 1973 published it in 101 BASIC Computer Games." In 1978, Hamurabi was released on the TRS-80. Hammurabi was misspelled Hamurabi to fit the 8-character filename limit.
  
  Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio was created by George Blank in 1978 and released on TRS-80 (and other things). Gameplay featured graphics, wheat trading and investing but no fighting armies.
  
  Taipan! (1979, Art Canfil) was likely an inspiration as well, especially the somewhat real time boat battles (1:39).
  
  Rest assured, they all sucked.
  
  
• While Peter stopped making games, he remains an absolute genius. "Trefonas has published at least 132 journal articles and technical publications. He has received 107 American patents, and has more than 15 active patent applications pending."
  
  

(originally provided as a separate basic program, copied here for your convenience)
Hello! Welcome to E M P I R E ...

Imagine yourself to be the ruler of a small, unimportant piece of European land way back in the medieval ages. Your country is beset by many problems - no industry, little trade, small army, underpopulation, angry neighbors, plague, and all the other day-to-day problems a capable leader must learn to face. Ambitious by necessity, you must aquire land, capital, and an army just to survive. Because of the short lifetimes back then, you'll have only a limited amount of time to build your country into an empire.

Competent rule will gradually be rewarded with lofty titles: Knight, Prince, King, and finally Emperor

Sounds easy?
Then consider this - five other city-states are also struggling to become the emperor, and they don't just intend to passively watch you win. They control armies which can attack at a moments notice, and perhaps devastate your country. They control the grain market, and if you think OPEC is bad, just wait and see how scarce and expensive grain can become.

Of course, a competent ruler could make a killing on the grain market. With proper planning, your harvests should be plentiful. You could solve overpopulation problems by raising a large army to be killed off in battle.

Nevertheless, your overiding concern should be lebensraum - living room. There is only a limited amount of land to be conquered. If you can defeat the barbarian hordes, and the well trained standing armies of the other nations, and then defeat their peasant militias, perhaps you may attain the well deserved title of Emperor.

Taxes
The customs tax applies only to immigrants to your nation. Often, lower customs tax means more immigrants. The sales tax is closely intertwined into your capitalist economy. While it has the potential of raising lots of money, overly high taxes tend to stifle industrial profits. Income taxes are paid by all inhabitants and industry. Again, lower income tax often means increased industrial output.

You have the option each year to invest your earnings in different types of trade and industry. In the years to follow, these investments, if managed correctly, will more than pay for themselves.

Types of investments

• Marketplaces are a relatively cheap investment that are quite profitable because they encourage the formation of a middle class - the merchants. And, as you are probably aware, the middle class pays an inordinate share of taxes.
  
  
• Grain Mills are necessary to process the harvest, and consequently, usually do quite well when there is a large harvest.
  
  
• Foundries are necessary for the creation of large armies. Several of them will allow you to equip a much larger army than otherwise.
  
  
• Shipyards have the greatest profit potential of all investments. Because of a larger volume of orders during good weather, there is often a better return during these years.
  
  
• Armies are never a profitable investment. Besides costing a large initial investment, they also cost a lot to maintain and train. In addition, they also require a greater fraction of the harvest than serfs.
  
  
• Of course, one should give himself the luxury of building a Palace. What else could distinguish an emperor from all the other kings with their castles, than a palace? Also, with a palace, your country will begin to attract more nobles.
  
  

Other general hints:
You always lose 10% as a brokerage fee when dealing on the grain market. When you sell your grain at different prices, the market price is the weighted average of the sales prices (this helps to prevent large yearly price fluctuations). To prevent those unscrupulous rulers who try to use the market as a method to avoid the rats, you can't buy back your own grain.

Also, leave a portion of your grain reserve for planting for next year's harvest. Often, it is beneficial to feed your people much more than they require. Immigrants are usually attracted to a prosperous nation, and sometimes, even merchants and nobles move in.

Up to six people can play this game. Rulers not played by humans will be played by your TRS-80, with its playing ability based on the average of the human players.

Winning

• To become a Prince, you must pass these rather stringent qualifications:8 marketplaces, 4 mills, palace 20% completed, a land-over-serf ratio of 4.8, over 10 nobles, and over 2300 serfs.
  
  
• To become a King, you must have:14 marketplaces, 6 mills, palace 60% completed, 1 foundry, land-over-serf ratio of at least 5.0, Over 2600 serfs and 25 nobles.
  
  
• To become an EMPEROR you must meet all of the above qualifications, and over 3100 serfs and 40 nobles.
  
  
• Editor's Note: No mention how one becomes the aforementioned Knight
  
  

Position the tape and type 'CLOAD' when you are ready.
Good luck, future rulers!